The executive of Hong Kong decided to activate, Friday, October 4, emergency laws dating from the British colonial era to try to contain the violence related to the protest movement in the city under Chinese administration.
Under these laws, which had not been used for more than 50 years and allow the executive to "decide any rule, whatever it is" preserving the general interest, the head of the executive Carrie Lam announced during a press conference that it would be forbidden to hide his face in case of crowd. And this, from October 5th.
Since the beginning of June, Hong Kong has been the scene of almost daily actions to denounce the decline of freedoms and the growing interference of Beijing in the affairs of its semi-autonomous region, and to demand democratic reforms.
Neither the Chinese central government nor the Hong Kong executive, which is aligned with Beijing, have managed to calm the dispute, which gives rise to ever more violent clashes with the police.
To avoid being identified and to avoid future lawsuits, the protesters are mostly wearing face masks, and often helmets, goggles and gas masks to protect themselves from tear gas and police shots. .
With AFP and Reuters